Scion tC by Cartel Customs

This Scion loses its top to provide a better look at its insides.

This Scion tC—created by drag racer Jeremy Lookofsky and Cartel Customs for this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas—may be the first convertible version of the model. Sort of.

While not a conventional convertible with a retracting roof, the car’s most obvious changes are a three-inch chop and the removal of the B-pillars, roof, and rear hatch, which Lookofsky says was done to provide a better view of his show car’s interior. Despite his claims of structural reinforcement, we’d still be wary of driving the trimmed and gutted tC with any vigor. Chassis flex aside, we do agree with the performance mods: a Toyota Racing Development supercharger, a limited-slip differential, and a side-exit exhaust system. The tC rides on an air suspension, which allows it to be dropped to the ground over its Toyo-shod, 22-inch Cartel-designed wheels.

Peering through the open roof reveals low-rider seats that look shockingly uncomfortable, an Alpine stereo, red leather, and white-and-black accents on the seats, door panels, and dashboard. Outside is a new body kit, along with shaved door locks and handles and a black, red, and white paint scheme that matches the unusualinterior trim.